Xbox Backwards Compatibility News for November

So….we had a major drop this week in terms of backwards compatibility.  76 games in all including Xbox 360 games, Xbox Original, Games that were Physical releases, digital releases and everything in between.  The full list from just Monday is below with notes regarding their physical and digital (with pricing) status.  I also updated the main list which is right here.  – Main List

There are a lot of great games here, most of which I would have never expected.  Binary Domain, the FEAR series, the Max Payne series, a couple of Mortal Kombats, NIER, Risen 1 & 2, Sacred 2, more Star Wars Games, Timesplitters, and One freaking chanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad.  Yes I own that.

Outpost Kaloki X which was a ridiculous fun little strategy game is on the list.  If you were paying attention to me during my numerous articles back when weekly BC adds were a thing, I stressed that you should have already bought a copy of Xbox Arcade: Volume 1 Unplugged on disc.  It’s cheap, goes for $5 to $10 and there were already 4 BC games (Hardwood Backgammon, Geometry Wars, Bejeweled 2, and Texas Hold Em) on this thing.  Well here is one more, tested it on Monday and it has no issues at all.  Now if I can just remember how to play the darn thing, I’d be set.

I always told myself I would get around to playing games like Conan (on sale for $5.99 at the Xbox Store this week btw), Max Payne 3 (remember this one has a ton of FREE DLC) and NIER all of which have been on my backlog longer than some of you have had your driver’s license.  Well I no longer have an excuse.  I might be adding a few more as well with the likes of The First Templar, Risen, and a 50 Cent game of all things.  I had to also laugh and chuckle at RAW – Realms of Ancient War which has been on sale about 20 times and how many times I passed over it because I didn’t think it would be BC.  I was wrong.

However, I would be amiss if I didn’t mention some of the bad from this drop.  There is no Saboteur, no Gun, no Two Worlds, no Risen 3 (which seems a bit odd considering 1 & 2 made it through).  Certainly there are titles missing that would have been nice.  I mean, were people really clamoring for Chicken Little and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?  But BC has always been full of questionable choices.

Second, not everything works.  I’m having a problem with TimePilot right now.  It shows that I own it on the Xbox Marketplace page (and I certainly remember buying and playing it), but wants me to pony up the $5 on my Xbox One.  I even tried installing it from my app on my phone and then when I try to start it, it’s looking for a license.  I have contacted Xbox Support on that one and still waiting for an answer. I’ve heard that Elements of Destruction and Warlords have had similar issues.

Screwjumper! is on the list and was previously only available digitally.  But now, it’s not even available which means only people who bought it previously will get to replay it.  If you are into TrueAchievements stats, that’s a grand total of 236 people on that service who have played it.  Not a whole heck of a lot.  Also there was an announcement earlier this week that the Skate 2 online servers would be closing.  That is such an Electronic Arts announcement if I ever heard one.  The Max Payne 3 servers also closed in September which is when I pretty much gave up on the game and basically discontinued half of the achievements.   So much for new players discovering that one.

Overall, I realize I am nitpicking just a tiny bit.  But then, this is what I lived and breathed for years and it was nice really to just reflect on this wonderful thing we call Backwards Compatibility.  It also made me sad because it’s also been confirmed by numerous sources that this is the LAST DROP.  Out with one big push and then we are done, back to work on other things.  Anyway, take a look at the list, I tried to provide as much information as possible and hopefully you’ll find as much enjoyment as I did writing about it.  Take care and enjoy.

(if you are ready this thru the summary, please click the continue Reading link for the full table)